Dec. 30 bombing suspect known

The National Bureau of Investigation is now hot on the heels of the alleged "go-between" in the Metro bombings last Dec. 30.

NBI director Reynaldo Wycoco told reporters Friday that the alleged "go-between" has been identified as a certain Jimmy Arinday.

"We have identified him. He has been included in the charge sheet. We know where he is. We are just waiting for the arrest warrant to be issued," Wycoco said.

According to Wycoco, Arinday was allegedly the one who recruited the bombers and acted as the link with the masterminds.

Wycoco added that they are still further verifying the identity of a certain Colonel Torres, reportedly one of the bombings’ masterminds. Wycoco, however, said that the name of Colonel Torres had already been included in the charge sheet filed by the NBI with the Department of Justice.

"We are still verifying who this Colonel Torres is. We are determining whether he was the mastermind of the bombings or he was just one of many masterminds," Wycoco said.

Scores were killed and seriously injured in the bombings which rocked the Blumentritt station of the Light Rail Transit, Plaza Ferguson in front of the United States Embassy, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, a passenger bus in Cubao, Quezon City, and a stall in front of the Dusit Hotel in Makati City.

Meanwhile, to beef-up police visibility in the streets of Manila, Western Police District director Chief Superintendent Nicolas Pasinos has ordered the reactivation of the police bicycle patrol.

Pasinos ordered all 11 station commanders of the WPD to re-activate their respective bike patrol units following complaints from the city’s Filipino-Chinese community about the apparent upsurge in criminal incidents, especially inside Chinatown.

"If you still have your bikes, reactivate them and convince your people to patrol the streets using them," Pasinos ordered his station commanders.

Pasinos ordered that the bicycle patrols support patrolmen now using scooters.

However, Pasinos admitted that most of the bicycles previously used for street patrols are now unserviceable.

"The patrols are now being conducted by policemen aboard scooters. But we will have the bicycles repaired and brought back to service to complement our police visibility operations," Pasinos said.

Convoys of policemen clad in sleek cycling shorts were familiar sights in the streets of Manila before.

But their absence in the streets have apparently emboldened criminals to stage even more daring crimes such as robberies and kidnappings, according to Manila residents.